You Hurt, I Hurt, We Hurt
by VegasJames
Summary: Draft proposals and late nights. It all sounds so innocent, right? If only it were.
1. How?

"Goodbye Miss Swan." Regina stated as she closed the front door to the mansion, leaving a sobbing Emma on the other side.

"Regina, wait!" Emma called as she tried desperately to gain the attention of her partner, now ex partner. One last cry out of a broken, hurt, and almost gut wrenching sob mixed with an absolutely shattered, "Why?", spilled from a half closed throat, only to fall on deaf ears.

How had they gotten to this point?

\- 24 hours earlier -

As Regina is putting the finishing touches on her famous lasagna, Emma is finishing up setting the table and asks Regina if she needs any help. Regina answers in a unusually clipped tone, "I'm fine, dear."

"Are you sure? I can do whatever you need me to." Emma answers, just slightly on edge regarding her fiance' s tone of voice.

With all the flourish of the queen, Regina turns and smiles. "All is well. See, all done", she states as she places the pan on the table for dinner. She then takes her seat across from Emma and proceeds the mumble a quick prayer over the food.

Everything seemed to be done after that, Emma really should have known better. As the two ladies ready themselves for bed, Regina accidentally calls Emma by another name.

"Goodnight, Ethan."

"Goodni- who the hell is Ethan?" Emma immediately goes on the offensive.

Regina, feeling the pressure, falters and says, "I said Emma. Goodnight Emma. It's been a long day and I must have been still thinking about the uh, newest draft proposal for the library." She attempts to clean up her statement, hoping Emma will drop it, but knowing better.

"I know what I heard, and you said Ethan." Emma looks like she could deflate at any moment. "A-are you cheating on me?" This is the question that makes Regina gasp audibly. "No, you wouldn't do that," Emma shakes her head, "I must be really tired. Night babe." Emma places a gentle kiss on Regina's shoulder, and turns on her side and falls asleep.

Regina, on the other hand, is awake for a little while longer trying to figure out how to explain this mess in the morning.


	2. Olive Bruises

Morning came all to soon for Regina. As her 6 a.m. alarm blared, she reached over and cut it off. After a second, she decided to get out of bed before Emma woke up. Regina gently removed herself from Emma's embrace. Her arms were usually a warm and soft place, but this morning, they felt like the most suffocating experience ever. When she gets to the bathroom, she clicks on the light and for some reason it sounds very loud, on this quiet morning. If there was any indication that she had woken Emma up, the light snoring would have put that to rest immediately. As Regina went about her morning routine, she felt heavier, somehow, like someone chained a 10 pound weight to her chest. Usually she felt light, even happy, yet today she felt as if she was going to be off balance all day.

Seeing her reflection in the mirror, Regina almost recoiled at the sight of how dark her eyes had become overnight. "I've really gotta get out for a run and clear my head",Regina thinks to herself while starting the shower. As she climbs in, her ear catches the almost too silent padding of Emma's feet on the carpet coming towards the bathroom.

"Morning babe."

Regina tries to slip into the easy morning routine of any other morning, but it did not come. "Good morning Miss Sw- Emma." WIthout looking up Regina slips her nightwear off and places them on the hook next to the shower, and climbs in.

Patiently waiting for the commode to be free, Emma yawns and pops her joints to loosen them up. When Regina was in the shower, Emma moved use the commode. "I had the weirdest dream babe", Emma stated, "In it, you called me Ethan."

Regina was frozen. Not because of the cold water, but the crippling terror of how sweet Emma is. "Oh come now, why would I call you E-ethan?", she faltered. Shaking off the short exchange, Regina continued to shower.

"I know right? Isn't Ethan the nerdy brokerage guy that comes like once week_ to discuss the funding for the city?"_, Emma imitated Ethan's low monotone voice. "God that guy bores me to death, how do you listen to him and not wanna gag?", she wonders out loud as she moves to wash her hands and start her skin care routine.

Feeling as if she is on the chopping block, Regina speeds to his defense. "We have had riveting discussions about art, I will have you know." Regina finishes her shower and pulls the curtain back while grabbing a her towel off the towel bar. "He has a bachelors in Early and Mid-century Artists. Ethan is a very smart man. You could learn a thing or two from him.", Regina states as she wraps the towel around herself and steps out onto the shower mat.

Emma watches her and tilts her head and wonders. Since when did Regina get a bruise on her shoulder? Was it there last night? "Sounds like geek to me." Emma takes the opportunity to be punny.

Regina rolls her eyes and switches spots with Emma. "Your turn to shower. I've gotta run." Regina exits the bathroom without so much as a glance back. As she makes her way to her dresser, she catches her reflection in the full length mirror beside her closet. She notices the darkening mark on her skin between her shoulder and the base off her neck. Her eyes grow wide and she stumbles back and recovers her step. "I'm gonna kill him."


End file.
